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Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador was born on December 6, 1982 in Pinto, Madrid. He is a professional cyclist who competed most recently for the Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank team (2012-2013). Contador became most well known when he won the Tour de France in 2007 as a member of the Discovery Channel Team, beating out veterans Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer. Doping Allegations Operacion Puerto In 2006, Contador and five of his Astana-Würth team members were implicated in the Operacion Puerto doping case. During the investigation, a note with Contador's intials (A.C.) were found on a handwritten note next to initials of another rider, Jorg Jaksche (J.J.), who later admitted to doping under a training program by Dr. Eufemianos Fuentes. Contador's initials were also found on a list of riders on a training document associated with Operacion Puerto, however, the court could not find a direct link between the list and a doping program. Contador swore in a court that he did not know Dr. Fuentes personally and that he was simply in the "wrong team at the wront time". 2010 Tour de France On July 21, on a rest day during the 2010 Tour de France, Contador gave a routine urine sample for drug control. In September, it was announced that this sample was found to contain minute traces of clenbuterol - a drug that is often used for muscle building and weight loss. Contador immediately denied any usage of banned substances, blaming a tainted cut of steak for the contaminated sample and pointing to his otherwise clean testing record. In addition, another urine sample taken the day before the clenbuterol positive sample, was reported to contain plastic residue (which to some, indicated possible blood doping). Contador claimed his love for Spanish cuts was to blame for the clenbuterol sample. He told investigators on the case that a friend obtained a 3.2kg veal tenderloin for Contador and his teammates in Basque Country and it was cooked for them at a hotel during the Tour. Based on Contador's claims, investigators traced the cut of veal back to a farmer named Lucio Carabias. While Contador's story seemed somewhat plausible, investigators were unable to find any proof that the calf had been given clenbuterol. Doping Conviction and Ban After the positive urine sample in 2010, Contador was suspended from cycling, which did not affect him too much, given that the cycling season was essentially over for 2010. In January 2011, the Spanish Cycling Federation gave Contador a one year ban but later overturned that ruling when Contador appealed, freeing him to compete in 2011. The UCI and WADA appealed that ruling and gave him a retroactive two year ban from cycling and allowed him to return back to cycling on August 2, 2012. As a result of his ban, he was also stripped of his 2010 Tour de France win and any consequent racing results during the banned period were voided. Results that were banned included a 2011 Giro d'Italia win and a fifth place finish at the 2011 Tour de France. Videos Notable Achievements